March 20, 2007

Muslim lobbyist talks rubbish

Massoud Shadjareh is chairman of the "Islamic Human Rights Commission".

The government has belatedly said schools have the right to ban pupils from wearing full-face veils on security, safety or learning grounds.

The guidance says schools need to be able to identify individual pupils in order to maintain good order and spot intruders.

"If a pupil's face is obscured for any reason the teacher may not be able to judge their engagement with learning or secure their participation in discussions and practical activities," it adds.

Mr Shadjareh pronounces that this is "guidance against Muslim communities" and is "simply shocking".

It may disappoint the tiny minority of Muslims who want their children to wear the niqab, but it has been so controversial already that they can hardly be surprised by the new guidance, let alone shocked.

The BBC reports with a straight face that -

Ayshah Ishmael, a teacher at a Muslim girls' school in Preston who wears the niqab away from the classroom, told the BBC wearing the veil promoted equality.

She said: "You're judged for who you are and not what you are, so I think there are two arguments to the whole equality issue."

This is nonsense too. Of course the niqab influences how people see you, because it's an obviously different form of dress.

If a pupil doesn't want to be judged by her appearance, the best way is to wear the ordinary school uniform. Then her clothes are making no statement about her at all.